War As My Father's Tank Battalion Knew It is a podcast about the 712th Tank Battalion in particular and World War II in general. I'm Aaron Elson. Nick Paciullo enlisted in the Marines when he was 17 and fought with the 4th Marine Division on Iwo Jima, Saipan, Tinian and Kwajalein. This interview took place on Sept. 4, 2002, a week before the first anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, and both Nick and his wife, Gladys, were deeply affected by the impending date. Early in the interview, Nick describes being out with his buddies in San Diego having a good time and getting into mischief. A little further on he tells what happens to those buddies in combat.
A transcript of this conversation is available in my book Semper Four, available in print and for Kindle at amazon, and a CD of the interview is included in the oral history audiobook "Four Marines," available in my eBay store. Thank you for listening.
PS: When Nick refers to being present at a "second Pearl Harbor," he is referring to the West Loch disaster of May 21, 1944.
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